


Ice Queen

by bob_eclipsa_smith



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, I read the empress’ tears the other day and this is what came of it, Kallura Positivity Day!, Random Oneshot!, empress allura - Freeform, yay!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-28 07:55:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13267068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bob_eclipsa_smith/pseuds/bob_eclipsa_smith
Summary: Keith meets the formidable Empress Allura. He’s surprised at how wrong his assumptions of her had been.





	Ice Queen

**Author's Note:**

> My second work of the day. Consider this an apology for leaving you guys hanging with The Ties That Bind.
> 
>  
> 
> Also my contribution to Kallura Positivity Day 2018.

He didn’t quite remember how he got here, or how he got separated from the others.

All he remembered was the brief stun of the flashing golden light, the sheer instant of nothingness at all and then… he woke up here. Wherever here was. There was something oddly familiar about this place, like a memory of a dream long forgotten yet woven into the subconscious like a thin strand of a silver ribbon. The sun shone warm on his face, soft tendrils of light and heat energy caressing his weary body. Gently, Keith’s eyes opened, peeling back as if they had been glued shut.

_Oh, shit._

He leapt up instinctively from his place in the grass, not having nearly enough time to pride himself at the brevity of his reaction, instead engaging in immediate combat with three soldiers. “Halt, in the name of the empress!” One shouted as he thrust his sword Keith’s way. “If you surrender now, we will kill you quickly.”

Keith, not being one for quipping while fighting, merely gritted his teeth in response, parrying the soldier’s attack and landing a swift kick to another behind him. Belatedly, in his battle fervid mind, he pondered the state of his team and where they had all gone. The white soldier said something about an empress, which struck a chord with him, making Keith recall a time where they had been hopelessly lost and confused, when Allura had been torn between another Altea and their Voltron. Keith’s lips pulled into a snarl and he swung another roundhouse kick to a soldier, pulling his beyard swiftly out and slicing it through the air warningly, releasing a red sword

The soldiers, undeterred, kept fighting. They would fight until their last breath escaped them. This, Keith knew from experience.

“Stop!”

And then, as though helpless robots, they stopped, the ringing voice commanding and powerful. Keith found himself freezing as well, though he did so for reasons all his own. The voice was authoritative, almost siren-like in its shining lilt. And yet… it was not unlike the voice he had heard everyday. From someone he had grown to care for, whose name and face elicited a feeling of great respect, familial affection and perhaps… though he would never tell this to her… the slightest bit of an emotion he dared not give name to. Keith shut his eyes in dread, knowing that if he turned, _she_ would be there. And _she_ was not _her_.

 _Halt in the name of the empress!_ His mouth pressed into an unfeeling line, his shoulders squaring as he prepared to face her. And he did.

The Empress Allura was as regal as she was powerful, as beautiful as she was cold, as sleek and sharp as the Altean markings adorning her cheeks. Familiar crystal blue eyes peered out at him in childishly curious wonder, a curtain of silky silver hair cascading down her shoulders to her mid back. She was gorgeous, but in a way that incited fear, a beauty like the falling snow: cold and calculating, devastatingly and deceptively and despairingly alluring. As Keith looked at her, at Allura that wasn’t Allura, at the blue eyes that shone coldly in the sunlight like melting icicles, he only felt an odd sort of wonder.

In the end, she was the first to speak.

“Kato,” Eyes, crystal lattice reminiscent of frozen ice, flicked to the tallest soldier, who knelt at her side. “Who is this?” Her unnerving eyes, so familiar and yet so unfamiliar, sunk upwards to meet his where they softened in mild curiosity.

The man–Kato–dipped his head in a slight bow of submission. “I know not, My Empress,” he replied. “He just happened to appear here, and he took down two of our men. Whoever he is, he is quite skilled.”

“Well,” A flash of a disapproving frown touched upon Allura’s face as she took in the news, as if the violence saddened her. But it was soon gone with Allura clasping her hands together in newfound interest, an odd little smile gracing her lips as she looked upon him like a child with a new toy. Keith stepped back instinctively. “We mustn’t keep him out here. People will notice and that will disrupt our peace. Do you like tea, stranger? I must say I am quite a fan of it myself.” She smiled that odd little smile. “It is a great way to meet new friends.”

Keith looked at her in disbelief, at this stranger Allura, before refusing her outstretched hand, backing away from the oddly calm diplomat. “I don’t think so.” He told her curtly. “I… should get back to–“

“Oh, no that will not do,” Allura interrupted seamlessly, her icy eyes flashing once with an almost there anger. “You must accept our hospitality. My offers are not so easily refused and are not to be taken lightly.” Keith’s heart pounded in his chest, his eyes flicking desperately towards possible routes of escape. He needed to get back to his reality. However he came here, he needed to find a way back. This version of Allura, breathtakingly beautiful and regal as ever, creeped him the hell out.

“Listen to the empress, young warrior,” Kato growled, voice coiling with distaste. “You are lucky we are not punishing you.”

Allura held up a firm hand, her eyes flashing in irritation and condescension. “Kato,” she snipped lightly, voice like ice cracking. “We do not threaten our guests,” a frosty smile crept across her face. “We are not barbarians.” A slender hand extended out to Keith yet again. “Young warrior. I insist that you come with me for tea,” the empress said. “And then we will discuss your sudden appearance.”

Keith narrowed his eyes, but seeing no other options, placed his hand carefully within hers, feeling her fingers curl around his own. Where her looks were all sleek, sharp and alienly beautiful, her hands were comfortingly warm and soft.

Almost human.

The smile she gave him wiped any comfort she had previously given him, a layer of thin frost creeping back over his spine. “Come.” She beckoned cooly, leading the way to where her carriage awaited.

~

Keith was surprised by this Allura’s behavior, not just because this was most definitely not _his_ Allura, but because he had always held the infamous Empress Allura to a certain standard. He had figured that she was much more like Zarkon than a reasonable leader, focused on spreading her sickening version of peace throughout the universe. He had pictured Empress Allura as an evil sorceress, ugly and gnarled and heartless. He had never actually pictured her as Allura, but this was very much _Allura_. She looked very much the same, the same bounce to her hair as she gracefully floated down the hallways, his hand carefully ensconced in her familiar one. Her eyes the same shade of crystal blue, but slightly frosted over like a mineral that had been exposed to the elements for too long. The same crinkle of skin around her mouth as she smiled, even if the smile itself was not the same.

“Are you doing alright, Keith?” She asked softly, casting a glance over her shoulder at him, his name on her tongue foreign yet achingly familiar, much like this Allura herself.

He nodded slightly, taking notice of the placid people casting them not a cursory glance as they passed by. Different species lingered in the hallways, lining them like frozen statues. Blank eyes peered solemnly from slackened faces that betrayed no emotion. Keith shuddered, suddenly remembering General Hira and the experimental slaves. He knew then and there, that if he were to turn them around, they would have the telltale infamous metal object inserted into their brains, inhibiting them of free will. His hand unknowingly tightened on Empress Allura’s, her own hand feeling much colder to him now that he’d seen her slaves first hand.

 _This is not Princess Allura_ , he reminded himself. _No matter how benevolent this Empress appears, she is not your Allura_.

The stranger in front of him turned a corner, bringing him into a large room with a soft looking bed and a few sofas. She smiled at him, releasing his hand. Keith backed away from that uneasy smile, and the frost covered blue eyes. The smile flickered for a moment, as if Keith were a pet that had just bitten her. She hummed thoughtfully, taking a seat at the small table. With nothing short of practiced grace, Allura gestured for him to take a seat besides her, to which he did with great caution.

“Do you like juniberry tea?” She asked harmlessly. “It was always my favorite growing up. Father loved it and so did I.” Allura raised the dainty cup to her lips, taking a sip before setting it back carefully on her plate. Keith shifted uneasily, his brows furrowed as he averted her piercing gaze, favoring the soft ripple of the colored tea. He blanched at the thought of King Alfor, but soon recovered, reminding himself yet again, that for all their similarities this was not Allura. The empress was staring at him expectantly, and Keith realized with some embarrassment that she had asked him a question.

“Not really,” he replied, the sound of his voice foreign and numb in his ears. “I’ve never really had tea.”

Allura reached out a hand, and nicked the top of his ear. He flinched at the undaunted contact, slightly pulling back.

If the empress noticed, she gave no indication of it, instead pulling back and folding her arms across the table. “Your ears are odd,” she mused. “They are unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”

Keith blushed. “Yeah I’ve heard that before.”

“You are a very unusual being, Keith.”

“Heard that before, too.”

He was startled by the sound of her laughter, brightening her countenance and adding to the benevolent facade that she put up oh so effortlessly. “I am sorry,” she giggled. “You have an odd sense of humor as well.”

Keith frowned, slightly offended and slightly amused. If he didn’t think about it too hard, he could almost pretend that she was Allura, and that she hadn’t enslaved all she had conquered in the name of her peace. “Uh… thanks?”

She smiled that smile again. Keith’s lip curled up slightly in response, despite himself. This seemed to have pleased her.

“What… what are you going to do with me?” He asked eventually, searching her expression tentatively for any sort of answer.

She looked at him softly, her cold blue eyes regarding him carefully. Another thing that unnerved him about the empress. Where his Allura was a raging bonfire, sparks of untempered and fervid flame threatening to consume all who upset her and warm all who she cared for, never one to do things in half, this Allura was something else entirely.

He thought once of a time when his father brought him up north for a trip. He had shown Keith the snow and the ice and the bitter cold. Keith had once seen a waterfall, partially frozen, creeping ice fighting for control over the raging water below. He remembered fearing the daggers of ice above the cavern, looking as if the slightest movement would cause them to tumble down. He remembered not knowing what to fear more, the icicles or the raging water below. And now, he didn’t know what to fear from this Allura. Her seeming benevolence, or her potential for destruction.

She clasped her hands together, the perfect picture of composure. “What would you like me to do with you?” The empress asked.

“I already told you,” he answered, feeling as though he were stepping on fragile ground. “I need to go home. My team–“

“And where is your home, Keith? Where would you like me to take you?”

He paused. “You wouldn’t believe me.”

She smiled mirthlessly, a pitying smile. “Try me.”

He sighed, looking down at his clasped hands, feeling oddly nervous in her presence. “I… I come from another reality.” He answered, looking up to the empress’ icy eyes. “A reality where me and my friends fight the Galra empire. I don’t know how I got here, Empress and I don’t really know what’s going on. All I know is that I need to go home.”

Her eyes were unreadable, a blank mask even more incomprehensible and menacing. “The Galra?” She echoed, her voice deadly soft.

“Uh… yeah.”

Her eyes hardened swiftly, pain flickering in them before she stood up in a blurred movement, her lips curling into a scowl. “The _Galra_ ,” she spit harshly, icy eyes flashing. “The Galra took _everything_ from me. You say…” she turned her sharp glare to Keith, who tended defensively in preparation for this formidable woman’s vengeance. “You say that they are still _alive_ in your reality. They thrive?”

He gulped under her sharp glare. “Yes.”

“Zarkon? He lives?”

“Yes.”

She snarled, her white skirts swirling around her in a whirl of silk and taffeta. Her eyes flashed with menace and hatred, and Allura stalked to the window, freezing besides it, even though her body thrummed with heated abhorrence.

Despite the fact that she wasn’t his Allura, Keith felt an uncanny urge to go to her, to this stranger who lost everything in one fell swoop. He joined her by the window, his concerned reflection next to her furious one.

Tentatively, he placed a hand on her shoulder, feeling her tense underneath it. “Empress,” he began softly. “Allura…”

Her voice was but a pitiful whisper, a breath of air, as if happily surprised and accepting of his attempted comfort. “Keith… why would you wish to go back? Why would you want to risk your life in a war when we have peace here?”

“My friends, Allura.” He answered without looking away from the beautiful utopian Altea. “My friends need me.”

She turned to face him, blue eyes vulnerable and wide. She didn’t look like an evil empress anymore. She looked afraid. “I can bring them here,” she told him resolutely. “I can reunite you with them. You do not–you _should_ not–have to go back to a life where your future is uncertain.”

He took his hand off her shoulder, trying to ignore the flash of something reminiscent to pain in her eyes as he did so. “Yeah, I do,” he replied soundly. “And peace? What kind of peace? I’ve… I've seen the people here, Allura. You take away their free will. What kind of peace is that?”

She frowned. “We only do that to planets that resist, Keith. Tell me, what difference does it make if the inhabitants are unhappy under our rule? They would be upset, and I don’t want that for them. Under our care, they simply… are. They are happy the way they are, the way we make them.”

Despite himself, Keith backed away. The empress’ frown deepened. “And how the hell is _that_ fair?” He growled, anger taking over. “How do you know they’re happy if you take away all that makes them who they are? Allura… you’re _taking away their will_. You’re taking away what makes them special.”

She lifted her chin defiantly. “It is to keep the peace, Keith. I do not do it because I enjoy it. I thought you understood that.”

“No. No I don’t. No matter how you feel, that’s not peace. I’m _fighting_ for real peace in my own reality. I fight for the oppressed because under the Galra Empire, they don't have a say. It’s just the same. You’re… you’re just like the Galra, Allura. You take and you take and you take without even thinking about what you’re taking!” He stepped closer and closer to her, unaware of the seething anger rolling off her in waves.

Allura’s eyes flashed dangerously, like icicles about to fall or ice about to shatter. “I am _nothing_ like Zarkon,” she hissed. “Watch your tongue when you speak to me, human.”

He didn’t stop, the words tumbling unbidden from his lips. “You don’t think you are but you’re just like him, Allura. Just like him.”

She was on him in a second, spindly fingers spreading across his cheeks, holding his face there like a statue. Her eyes bore into his, harsh and angry, bitingly frigid daggers of crystal blue. He sucked in a breath, some of his anger contorting to fear at what this ice queen could and would do. “I should have you compromised for your attitude,” she said. “I could do it so easily. One minute there and the next… _nothing_. It would be so easy and so _so_ painless.”

Keith’s breath hitched and his eyes shut, preparing himself for her wrath.

A strangled gasp escaped her suddenly, fingers slipping from his face as if his touch had burned her. Her voice came in a fleeting whisper, oddly afraid and unwilling. “But I will not.”

Keith’s eyes snapped open in bewilderment. “What?”

She was back by the window again, expression solemn and conveniently averted from his. “I will not.”

Keith blinked. “Why?”

Allura looked at him, eyes large. “Because I don’t want to. I do not wish to take away your will. I do not wish to take away what makes you you.”

He fell silent. She shut her eyes suddenly, exhaustion and fear taking over. “Oh, by the ancients… I _have_ failed, Keith, haven’t I? I have tried to find peace and all I did was take away freedom. Tell me, what kind of peace is that? What kind of person does that make me?”

Keith said nothing.

“You could stay, Keith. Please. You could stay and help me fix my wrongdoings. I have failed them, Keith. You were right, always right. I am just like Zarkon. I am a monster.”

He shook his head. “You’re not a monster, Allura.”

“But I am.” She said, silently mourning with her eyes which shone with unshed tears.

“I used to think my father would be proud of what I have accomplished, but what would he think of me now? How would he react to what I’ve done?”

“Allura–“

“I have to fix it,” she said. “I have to fix this.” She was besides him in an instant, warm hands squeezing his shoulders, blue blue eyes staring fearfully back at him, in an unspoken reminder of all she had endured alone. “Keith,” the way she whispered his name reminded him of her. “Keith you have to stay here. I… I cannot be alone anymore. I _cannot_ do this without someone. _Please_ , I’ve been alone for so long.”

“I’m sorry, Allura. I have to leave.”

“ _Please_. Please don’t go back to the war. I will not know if you survive and I am not certain you will.”

He grabbed her hands. “Allura. You just met me today. I can’t be that important to you.”

“You are.” She reassured him with a firm nod. “I cannot explain it but it is as if I have known you forever. I feel as if you were destined to come here, Keith, and I cannot allow you to leave knowing your life is at risk if you do. I _will_ not.”

He shook his head, taking a step back. She looked so different from when he had first seen her. The ice queen had melted away before his very eyes, revealing a vulnerable and broken girl who was simply terrified to be alone. “Allura, you can’t keep me prisoner here,” he breathed. “That’s pretty much like taking my will away.”

She shook her head as well, her silvery curtain of hair bouncing as she did so. “No.” She whispered brokenly. “No, you cannot leave me. You _cannot_.”

He said nothing, allowing the empress to come to the conclusion on her own.

Allura looked at him. Really really looked at him. “Keith,” she whispered. “Keith… please…”

“I have to go, Allura.” He said, averting his gaze from her. “I can’t stay here forever. I don’t belong here.”

She shut her eyes. He walked closer, despite the turbulent thoughts running rampant, saying that this was not his Allura. In an act of pure impulsiveness, he pulled the empress into his chest, feeling the rush of deja vu as he did so  
in reminiscence of a time with his Allura in the castle hangar. The thought made his chest ache with longing. He missed his friends so much.

Allura was soft and warm in his arms, a shuddering, blubbering mess of someone who had just come to terms of something serious. He felt her snuggle her head in the crook of his chest, felt her small hands grip the edges of his paladin armor, clinging to it like a lifeline. This may not have been his Allura, but it was close. Closer than he had ever thought possible for the elusive and formidable Empress Allura.

“I’m sorry.”

She stilled against him. “As am I.” Allura pulled away, forcing a practiced smile onto her face. Keith smiled back at her, relieved by the kindness of the smile, so different from the icy glares and customary expressions of diplomacy. “I… I have to let you go… don’t I?” She let go of him, distancing herself from him as if preparing herself to do so. Her eyes shone with tears and heartfelt emotion.“I...I shall let you go now, Keith. I wish you all the happiness in your life. There is, however, something I possess. Something that is able to pass through realities.” Her hands went to her neck, and she unclasped a small golden necklace, placing it in Keith’s outstretched hands. “It was my father’s. He made it for me from the same comet that created Voltron. It should get you to where you wish to go.”

He stared at it in disbelief, the delicate gold chain pooled innocently in his hand.

“I–thank you.”

She smiled, and softly, very very delicately, the empress leaned in. Keith’s heart stopped, though from nervousness or anticipation he knew not. For a fleeting second, he thought she was going to kiss him.

So when her lips pressed gently upon his forehead, he felt a mild sense of disappointment, a certain unexplainable longing for this woman who was so much like his Allura, and yet so very different.

She pulled away, her breath a soft reminder on his forehead.

“If I am to let you go,” she whispered, voice a delicate piece of glass capable of shattering. “I need you to promise me something.”

He shut his eyes, feeling her warm breath on his forehead. “Okay.”

“I need you to promise me that you will be alright. I understand that I have not known you for very long, but that does not mean I cannot be concerned for your safety.”

Keith hesitated, knowing he could not guarantee his safety in the middle of a war. And seeing the empress’ expression, he knew she understood the unlikeliness of the request. But he gave her a small nod before returning the kiss chastely, sweetly and transiently upon her brow, releasing her hands and allowing her to clasp the necklace around his neck.

“Goodbye,” she said as she stepped away. “I wish you well, Keith. I hope you find happiness in the life you have chosen.”

He smirked back at her. “You too.”

And then, he stepped into the golden glow of the newly created rift and away from the empress, feeling the familiar numbness take him over yet again.

The numbness receded from his senses, leaving them blissfully cool and aware. The air stilled around him, the rift behind him shutting with a soft pop. When he opened his eyes once more, he was in his room in the castle, worried voices of his friends carrying to him by way of the castle vents. He sighed in relief upon knowing they were alive, opening the door with a soft hiss.

Blue eyes greeted his, and for a moment his heart stopped, a picture of icy blue eyes, hard and sleek posture and an unyielding but soft smile. The image was forcefully removed, and Keith could only see his Allura standing before him once again, with an air and a beauty that none of her doppelgängers could possibly possess. One uniquely gifted to Princess Allura of the decimated planet Altea.

“Allura?”

She threw her arms around him in the second hug he had received all day. He resisted the urge to make a sultry joke about having been hugged by _two_ Alluras, but he refrained from doing so, promptly realizing that it would make no sense. “Keith! What happened? We were all so worried! One minute your lion was here and the next…” She pulled back keeping her warm arms snaked around his neck, her young and jubilant blue eyes, not at all reminiscent of an ice crystal, regarding him in surprising worry, awaiting his explanation.

“Uhhhh…”

_Way to go. Good job._

Allura tilted her head, then nodded in understanding. “It can wait,” she told him. “Come, the others are worried.” Her eyes flicked to the golden pendant, still around his neck, eyebrows furrowing. “Where… where did you get this? My father gave this to me ten-thousand years ago. How could you possibly have this?” She touched her neck gently, unearthing an identical golden pendant before looking at him questioningly.

He smiled at her, placing his hand atop hers, eliciting a scarlet blush and a confused look from Allura. “It’s a long story,” he told her. “Come on, I'll tell you guys.”

Allura, _his_ Allura, followed him with no hesitation, and after a few ticks, Keith felt her hand catch his, her blissfully warm fingers entwining gracefully with his. She didn’t let go.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you’d like more of this AU. I can always write more about the empress in the future.


End file.
